The Disappearance of Sawamura Eijun
by s.shigeno
Summary: Since the moment he laid eyes on the young pitcher, he became so obsessed with Sawamura's features and potential. He wanted to destroy the young pitcher. The young man viewed Sawamura as his prey as he hid in the shadows waiting to make a move.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**SAWAMURA'S STRANGE DREAM**

The crowd outside the Seidou baseball field let out a collective sigh of relief as cheers of the final strikeout of the inning erupted through out the place. Seidou's ace, Sawamura Eijun struck out batter after batter in every innings and most often the young boy roared to victory. People were clapping their hands, yelling, cheering, screaming.

"Oi, Wolf-boy! Aren't you happy? We won!" Sawamura grinned.

"But it was just a practice game, Sawamura senpai." Okumura said in a serious tone.

Everyone were delighted and thrilled by how much Sawamura the new Ace of Seidou seemed to have improved but no matter how much he might have improved, Kuramochi was still kicking his ass for fun.

"You have improved much since the season have started. However, I have noticed a few things. I need to talk with you in my office right now." Coach Kataoka said.

"Yes, Boss!" Sawamura nodded.

"Good game guys, we will resume tomorrow. Go now and rest." Coach Kataoka added.

One by one, people who were watching the game began to leave the field, talking and laughing about the boys' performances. But there's a young man who choose to be left behind and stay for a few moment to watch the young boy. This man is fascinated by Seidou's second year ace pitcher, Sawamura Eijun.

He watched and observed the young boy every day on the field, and every time he saw that boy, it was like a thunder thrust into his heart. He knew the boy better than the others. He collected every Sawamura's pictures he had found in the newspaper and secretly snapped pictures of Sawamura over the months then hanging them in the wall.

He had been watching Sawamura up early every mornings, jogging alone, sometimes running with tyres. Then, Sawamura disappear every afternoon because of school and reappear later on the baseball field. And when night comes down, the young man went back to the field to see if he could catch another glimpse of the boy. More weeks have passed, he continued to secretly watch the ace player, loving every minute, but hated the fact that Sawamura was surrounded by the other young boys. He's really obsessed with Sawamura and he thought if he could friend the boy, Sawamura could trust him.

"You're my obsession, Eijun-kun. I didn't give up on you." the man said to himself.

The young man had sent Sawamura a gift and a note in his school locker which said 'I am your fan! Ganbatte, Eijun-kun!'

Sawamura thought someone was just making fun of him, so if he ignored them, they would soon get tired and stop sending him a gift. Since that day, he felt like someone watching his every movement. Part of it was his wariness, but the other part was curiosity. Most of the time Sawamura was just trying to convince himself that this thing wasn't a threat to him. He once talk about this matter with the other boys but they just teasing him non-stop especially Kuramochi and Miyuki.

"I'm telling the truth!" Sawamura annoyed.

"Are you a moron or just stupid?" Kuramochi rolled his eyes.

"That's the same thing!" Sawamura yelled.

"That's ridiculous! Who could give you a gift and a love letter? She probably put in the wrong locker." Miyuki smiled.

"That was supposed to be in Furuya's, right?" Maezono laughed.

"That's not a love letter and how come it should be for Furuya?! I saw my name written there!" Sawamura said.

"By the way where's the gift and the note, Sawamura senpai?" Yui asked.

As Yui asking this, everyone turned to stare at Sawamura.

"Well, actually, I threw it away." Sawamura said with sweat-drops from his face.

Sawamura stand up from the chair while everyone speechless. He actually felt a death-glare by Kuramochi. He was very scared when he saw how mad everyone was, well, except for those first years. They thought he was lying and making a story and Sawamura knew he was in for a good wrestling by his senpai Kuramochi, so he try to ran back to his dorm room as fast as his legs could carry him but Kuramochi was quicker with his legs. He kicked poor Sawamura in the ass till he yowl and howl in pain but no one came to rescue him.

"Ouch! It's hurt, Kuramochi-senpai!" Sawamura yelled in agony.

"Are you serious, Eijun-kun? I don't know what to think about that." Haruichi grinned.

"Idiot." Furuya nodded.

"Senpai, please stop it." Asada concerned.

"Served him right!" Kanemaru said.

"Now, I shan't be able to sit in the class for a week!" Sawamura wept.

"That ought to teach you a valuable lesson. Stop making your own nonsense story, Bakawamura!" Kuramochi said with his evil eyes.

"I'm not lying!" Sawamura cried.

"Shut-up!" Kuramochi yelled as he headlock Sawamura.

That night, Sawamura couldn't sleep because of the muscle pain, so he checked his phone and play Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyou Series to get some relief until he couldn't remain conscious long enough to think about the stranger who give him a gift. His eyelids fell shut and soon he drifted off into sleep from which he was unlikely to awaken him soon.

He dreamed someone was breaking into their dorm room to get him and there's a stranger covered his mouth. He tried to yell but found he couldn't make a sound. The stranger began to drag him toward the vehicle but he kicked at the man and was able to break free and the stranger drove off. Then, he found himself running in a dark unknown place that he didn't recognize. It looked like an underground cave, but somehow he could tell that he was deep underground as in so deep that he couldn't dig to the surface even if he wanted.

Afterwards, Sawamura was too tired to keep running, so he instead stopped for a while and took a deep breath. Then, he saw himself and Kuramochi walking together in front of him.

"Remember what I said, Bakamura. Make sure you're back at dorm before 7 pm." Kuramochi said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know! Can you please stop reminding me that, Kuramochi-senpai?" Sawamura groaned.

"And don't talk to strangers, Tokyo is very scary nowadays." Kuramochi said. "You have our numbers in case anything happens, right?"

"Geezz... Yeah! Yeah!" Sawamura pouted.

Sawamura just watched them walking until they disappeared from his sight. He eyed his surroundings and noticed the changes. Then, he eyed a small gray house which suddenly appeared with four digits number in the red door.

"1425?" Sawamura murmured.

He found the door ajar and slowly pushed it to open. The place was a little mess. There was pictures of the young boy scattered everywhere and broken glass. The tables and chairs were turned over. He saw the light switches behind the counter and decided to switched them all on. He opened another door to the side and walked inside. The room was empty except there was a body underneath the table, he moved the table and found a young boy's unconscious body. The boy was in bad shape with blood in his head.

"Sawamura!" someone called.

"Ehh?" Sawamura confused.

"Sawamura Eijun!" someone called again.

He heard footsteps like someone's walking towards the room. He stepped out of the room and slowly closed the door where he found the young boy. Suddenly, he saw another boy walking towards him, closer and closer.

"Sawamura Eijun, don't go out alone. " the young boy said.

Shortly after the very disturbing dream, Sawamura woke up and covered in sweat. He knew this dream could be a forewarning, but Sawamura did not know why. He told Asada and Kuramochi the meaning of his dream but he did not get a proper answer from them but he could not get the face of the young boy out of his mind. The boy in his dream look like the former captain of Seidou, Yuki Tetsuya but with blond hair and blue eyes and he's wearing a baseball uniform. Sawamura's dream kept coming back to his mind again and again even in the middle of modern Japanese subject. He could not shake it off. It bothered him so much and he could not concentrate on anything especially coach Kataoka was currently teaching in front of them.

"The Boss always watched his students as they went up and down... to make sure that we were paying attention to his subject..." Sawamura said to himself "If a student like me... happened to fall asleep in the middle of his class—"

Until his head fall to the table and drifted into sleep for a few minutes but coach Kataoka noticed him.

"Sawamura, wake up." Kataoka said as he walked closer to Sawamura who did not open his eyes.

Kanemaru rise from his chair and decided to gently nudge Sawamura's shoulder.

"Hey, It's time to wake up, Sawamura!" Kanemaru said while gradually raising his voice.

But Sawamura didn't twitch. Kataoka frowned and everyone became nervous. Kanemaru shook Sawamura a bit harder.

"Sawamura, wake up! Coach was getting mad!" Kanemaru annoyed.

He then touched Sawamura's forehead and it was burning hot. Kanemaru wondered how long Sawamura had been ill.

"He's burning up, sir!" Kanemaru said.

The entire class was in shock. Everyone went quiet and you could hear nothing but Sawamura's moaned from pain.

* * *

**NOTE:**  
Hello guys! Since 'Our Future Ace' fanfic finished already, I decided to write another fanfic about (torturing again) Sawamura. For now, I'm still thinking if I should kill Sawamura in the story since I'd already killed him in my other fanfic. I'm so sadist right? Well, thank you for reading this story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**OKUMURA MET A STRANGER**

The sun was shining brightly from an unusually clear blue sky. Only a few clouds on the horizon gave a hint of possible rain later. Sawamura remained silent and motionless. Within moments, the school nurse was in the clinic working over the young boy, taking his temperature, blood pressure and performing other test as they waited for a doctor.

"Yeah, he won't wake up. He's running a high fever. The nurse have got to call the doctor immediately and he rushed him to the nearest hospital, right Furuya?" Kanemaru said to them in the dinning hall.

"Yeah. Everyone panicked... except me." Furuya lied.

"Oh, no." Maezono worried.

"I noticed he's not okay since morning while we're both practicing the numbers." Miyuki said.

"Did Kuramochi-senpai kicked him too much that makes Sawamura sick?" Toujo wondered.

"Probably." Haruichi nodded.

"Shut up!" Kuramochi yelled.

Miyuki turned to him, "What happened afterward?" Miyuki asked that everyone turned towards Kuramochi.

"Hmph! That idiot told us he had a bad dream about kidnapping and murdering someone. He's so annoying." Kuramochi sounded worried.

"Oh, it was just a dream." Shirasu said.

"Yeah and he's doing fine yesterday in the practice game right?" Kawakami said.

Asada looked at his senpais and said, "This morning, Sawamura-senpai's headache started while changing clothes. Kuramochi-senpai had already left the room. And then, within a few seconds, Sawamura-senpai felt chilled. Then a few minutes later, he was burning up, sweating and vomiting."

Everyone turned to Asada with wide eyes and slightly ajar jaws.

"Why you didn't tell us?!" Kuramochi yelled.

"Hey, relax!" Maezono said.

"I'm so sorry senpai! Actually his fever lasted one hour and then he took a nap. When Sawamura-senpai woke up, the fever was gone but he said he ached all over." Asada said.

"Case closed. Kuramochi's fault." Miyuki nodded.

"You jerk! You're talking crazy! Why are you accusing me of doing something to that idiot?" Kuramochi said angrily.

Outside the dinning hall, Okumura was running alone in the field. Then he stopped, panted and grabbed the towel hanging on his shoulders to wipe the sweat running down his forehead. As he was resting he notice the sky starts to turn cloudy and gray. Wind blew in, the rain was coming soon. Okumura could smell it. He started to run again then, but had only taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped and turned to the man who was calling him outside the fence.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" the young man said.

Okumura don't like to talk to the strangers but couldn't persuade his feet to move.

"How can I help you, sir?" Okumura walked towards the man.

"If you don't mind, Koushuu-kun. Where are the other boys?" the young man asked, worriedly.

Okumura frowned as he heard his name, "We don't have practice today, sir, and a bunch of my senpais were resting."

"Is that so? I'm just waiting on your pitchers to show up in the practice field but I didn't see them around. And I got to wondering where your ace player was. I haven't seen Sawamura Eijun yet." the young man asked, smiling.

Okumura was staring at the stranger for one minute, then he raised his eyebrows.

"Well, if I know Sawamura-senpai like you do then he will be here if I just know it."Okumura lied.

"Yeah. Well, he's the most jolly and hardworking person I know. It's so rare not to see him around." the young man laughed.

"I am sure it has nothing to do with you, sir. I want to make sure that Sawamura-senpai is protected from anything." Okumura said, loud enough for the stranger to hear.

"Wow, you're so rude. I'm just asking." the young man said, trying to be nice. "Well, thanks. Weird guy!" he added and started to walk away.

Okumura didn't respond as he watched the man walk away. He wasn't sure how much time passed while he was talking with the stranger but he snapped out of it when Seto entered.

"Koushuu! There you are!" Seto smiled.

Seto paused as he saw Okumura looking at the man walking away from the fence, "What's the matter?" he asked.

Okumura glanced at his friend and told him about everything.

Entering hospital room, Kataoka and Rei carrying flowers, they find Sawamura asleep on oxygen. Rei set the flowers down on a dresser across the room so Sawamura will see them when he wakes up.

"Sawamura-kun has developed a high fever. His x-rays indicate that there is pneumonia in his right lung. We are keeping him on oxygen for now and treating him with antibiotics but if his condition worsens we may have to move him to ICU." the doctor carefully explained.

"Pneumonia?" Rei shocked.

"Yes, madam. He needs to take deep breaths and cough when he is awake and for now I have him on bed rest. His fever has been as high as 104. He needs a lot of rest to get well but he is strong and I am optimistic." the doctor added.

"Thank you doctor." Kataoka bowed and extends his hand to the doctor.

"You're welcome and see you later." the doctor bowed his head, leaving the room.

"Right now we have concentrate on getting Sawamura well and healthy again." Kataoka said.

"Yes. I will inform his family immediately." Rei said. "How about the boys?" she added.

"I'd already told Oota-sensei. I will talk to the school tomorrow and see what arrangements can be made." Kataoka said as he sat down in the chair, "We also need preparations for the players for an upcoming match. I'll ask coach Ochiai if he's available to observe the pre-game to make adjustment."

"That's a good plan. How about Sawamura's visitors?" Rei asked.

"I think it would be best for now if we put a 'No Visitors' sign on the door so they won't be here all of the time when he should be resting." Kataoka answered.

"He doesn't want to see them worried anyhow." Rei sighed.

Kataoka flips open his cellphone and calls Oota, the club president of the baseball team. He heard it begin to ring. After what seem like a week, he finally heard the phone pick up and said, "Good evening Oota-sensei, I'm spending one night with Rei-san here on hospital to make sure Sawamura is all right. Can you please ask the boys if they ever found Sawamura running in the rain these past few weeks?"

Oota nodded, "Okay, one moment coach! Guys, did anyone see Sawamura-kun blah blah—"

Kataoka heard Oota's voice on the other end of the line asking the boys, while Rei's watching him. Over the cellphone came the voices of their players talking and murmuring.

"Coach! Confirmed!" Oota's voice broke in, "Asada-kun saw him two weeks ago."

"How long was Sawamura out in the rain?" Kataoka asked.

"Okay," Oota nodded, Kataoka was put on hold.

"Asada-kun said it's probably about an hour and a half or two hours." Oota replied.

"Thank you, Oota-sensei. I will call you back just in case there's a problem with Sawamura." Kataoka said and turned off the phone.

On the spirit dorm, everyone was quiet and has a worried look on their face obviously.

Oota looked around to make sure that everyone was paying attention. He sank into a chair and took a deep breath before starting to speak, "He's got pneumonia."

Everyone was shocked when they heard the news.

"Pneumonia?" Kuramochi shook his head, "How can he? He hasn't been sick. He had sniffles for a day or five, but noting that would give you pneumonia."

"Haven't you heard? He's running in the cold rain two weeks ago. A person may not feel it until two or three weeks after becoming infected." Miyuki said.

"Oh, okay. Thanks for explaining cap!" Kuramochi rolled his eyes, feeling like an idiot.

"How is he? Can we see him, sensei?" Haruichi asked.

Oota clear his throat, cautioned the boys. "Coach also said Sawamura-kun was not allowed to have visitors except his family."

"Have coach Kataoka said anything about Sawamura's current condition?" Ochiai asked, that make everyone startled.

"He said Sawamura-kun is in stable condition... for now, but he is unconscious." Oota replied.

Everyone went quiet and listened to the sound of the rain outside.

"He should be fine. Sawamura-kun is strong." Oota smiled, trying to cheer the players, "Coach Kataoka and Rei-san are taking very good care of him. He promised to call us if there is any change or if they decide Sawamura-kun need to be moved to ICU." he added.

"Will he be all right tonight?" Furuya asked.

"Yes, of course, Furuya-kun." Oota smiled.

"That's good." Furuya said.

The boys noticed how tired the baseball club president appears, his shoulders are slumped as though he is carrying a great weight since Kataoka was not there, and there's worry and concern in his eyes.

"You are tired Oota-sensei, let me take you to dinner tonight and you just relax, please." Ochiai said.

"Yes, that sounds nice coach Ochiai, just let me change into something nice." Oota smiled.

"No need for that, you look fine." Ochiai told Oota as he walks him to the exit door before turning his attention back to the players.

"Since it was still gloomy outside, just relax and enjoy the evening. Things will look better in the morning." Ochiai said before he left.

"Wow, is that really coach Ochiai? I hadn't thought about that. How careless of me." Maezono amazed, scratching his head.

"Well, it's time to go back to our room guys and then we can get some rest." Miyuki said as he rose up to stretch his muscles. "And... finish everything on your plate first years!" Miyuki grinned.

The seniors quietly left the dinning hall except the first year squad who stayed behind to finish their meal. Mogami glanced from side to side, as if seeking a way to flee.

"Finish your meal, Mogami. You can't waste it." Yui said.

"It's easy for you to say! But, what if we can't finish all this food?" Mogami said, ready to puke.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Masashi can eat at least half of this on his own." Seto laughed.

"Really?" Kuki and Asada both blinked.

"That's not true." Masashi said.

"Of course I'm just joking, right Koushuu?" Seto grinned.

"Instead of talking, why you guys just shut up and finish your meal and leave." Okumura said in a deep irritated voice.

They agreed and just sat there, remained silent for a few moments. In the middle of the evening, the sky was still covered with dark heavy clouds but the rain sounds so beautiful. After dinner, the first years gathered to clean up. Asada and Mogami were cleaning the table when they noticed Okumura and Seto were whispering to each other. Of course that made them want to know what Okumura and Seto were saying. So Mogami moved over and busied himself at the table nearest them. He had to look like he's not interested. He just heard small things but when Seto noticed him, he started talking to Mogami that he shouldn't be eavesdropping but Mogami just couldn't help, his fellow first years were that curious.

"I think we should tell them, right Koushuu?" Seto smiled at Okumura.

"About what?" Yui asked.

Seto and Okumura looked at each other, thinking together in silence. After a moment, Okumura nodded, and then Seto.

"Koushuu told me that there's a stranger standing outside the field. He's watchin' Koushuu while running and then called him and asked about Sawamura-senpai's whereabouts." Seto said.

Asada, Kuki, Mogami, Masashi and Yui were speechless. But outside the dinning hall, Miyuki was standing there listening, completely bewildered. He finally broke the silence.

"Who's that man? Tell me." He said.

* * *

**NOTE: **

It's me again! Thanks for reading the chapter 2. I noticed coach Ochiai is kinda OOC here hehe or it's just me, but I'm glad to put some minor characters here in the story. While making this, I notice about some similarity with Our Future Ace fanfic because Sawamura is sick *scratching head* I'm so stupid. I'm really sorry guys but I'm trying to not make this stroy like OFA. Perhaps, I'll make Sawamura alive and get well. Well, I dunno. Thank you~


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**KURAMOCHI'S DREAM**

The young man couldn't stop staring at Sawamura's face, his eyes, his lips. He touched Sawamura's picture again and again, tracing the outline of his face. He spent another hour in the room filled with Sawamura's pictures, not really understanding why but he couldn't stop staring at them. He was a person who needed to see the young pitcher every day. What had made Sawamura Eijun so damned special that he could get someone's attention easily like this crazy man?

As far as the man could see, the ace pitcher is just a toy and prey. He will not rest until he know Sawamura's whereabouts. He was determined to claim the young pitcher. He wanted Sawamura by his side as his toy. These thoughts sent shivers through the spine of the man, picturing Sawamura in the empty room or in the basement. Envisioning his brown hair, his beautiful amber eyes and the smile he always wore when he struck out every batter that brought a playful smirk across the man's face.

The first time the young man had met Sawamura's debut at the Spring Koshien, there had been a pull toward him. It was more than obsession. He studied the young boy's face and it haunted him like a terrifying nightmare. The man had come up with a plan, he would get back tomorrow at the baseball field, he would set a trap for Sawamura for trying to be his number 1 fan.

His only concern was Sawamura's teammates who are always surrounding him during practice like the annoying brat he met earlier. He would have to be rough to abduct the young pitcher, but he decided he would be very careful about how he touched and treated the boy, just in case Sawamura got caught.

Then, he could take Sawamura and just put him in the trunk and drive him somewhere deep in some woods, torturing first and bring him into his house. He could keep Sawamura blindfolded all days, months perhaps and kill him after that.

"But what if he got away?" the words slice through him.

The man teeth clenched, his mind was restless, crazy and completely tired. He couldn't remember when was the last time he had a good night's sleep since he met Sawamura. He got up from his chair and went to the window. Rain had started to fall again, as if a dam had burst high in the mountains, a rage of water against his window-pane. He watched it pour down in streams as if it would never stop again.

The man frowned a moment to the window. In the reflection, he could see in the middle of him the reflection of another person behind him.

"Hey, Takashi! How did you find yourself in this place? You know it's not for the dead right? Fuck off!" the man smirked and laughed hysterically.

The rain continued on through the night, but the lightning and thunder had ceased and now the baseball field beginning to turn to mud.

"Why would he stalk him? He's totally an idiot. He's not even that cute. That man didn't need to stalk Sawamura." Miyuki said.

"But what if he was the stalker? What if he's the one who sent a gift and a note?" Okumura protested.

"Nah! I think he's just an ordinary guy like the other men who were always watching our games and practices. Most people around this place knew everyone of us here." Miyuki said.

"But Miyuki-senpai, he's obviously someone suspicious, believe m—" Okumura started to explain but was cut off.

"Koushuu, enough." Seto stopped.

"Taku? You don't believe me, do you?" Okumura glared.

"No, Koushuu, it's not that I don't believe you. Just...relax..." Seto said.

"...fine!" Okumura said.

"Sorry to leave you here again, but I better get going. You are spending way too much time worrying about nothing. I don't think you should be too worried first years," Miyuki said as he stood up. "and it's getting dark already." he added.

"It's still early for us Miyuki-senpai, and the night is so long. No one can think of sleep yet." Yui said.

"Yeah, you're right." Miyuki nodded and then felt a vibration on his pants, then the familiar ring tone of his cellphone. He flipped the phone open and answered it. As he listens, color drains from his face, he breaks out in the cold sweat of dread. The first year squad are wondering what Miyuki and the other guy in the phone were talking about. It took Miyuki a while to flip his phone closed and when he did, he looked at the first years.

"Is that Oota-sensei, right? What's wrong?" Yui said suddenly concerned.

Miyuki nodded and said, "Sawamura has taken a turn for the worse, they are rushing him to ICU. He stopped breathing."

"Oh my he is dead...?" Mogami said.

"Oh, no. This can't be happening!" Asada disbelief.

"Calm down, guys. We have to be strong for Sawamura-senpai." Seto patted Asada.

"Boys, help me spread the news to others who do not yet know. Come on." Miyuki said and left the dinning hall and headed toward the dorm.

Kataoka and Rei are not allowed in to see Sawamura right now and sit in the waiting room for the doctor or someone to tell them what is going on. Both are filled with dread and apprehension, fearing the worst. It's already middle of the night and they are the only ones in the ICU waiting room. Sawamura's doctor walked in at last and said,"His lungs filled up fast and he was unable to breathe in enough air to sustain him and his heart stopped."

Kataoka and Rei gasped in horror but the doctor patted their shoulders, "Since Sawamura-kun was under close observation, we were able to act quickly and save him. We had to sedate him and insert a tube into his throat to help him breathe. He's on a respirator now."

"Sedated?" Kataoka frowned.

"We will need to keep him sedated for now because he is actually able to breathe on his own and would gag on the tube if he were awake." the doctor said.

"Poor boy." Rei said with sad look in her eyes.

"Yes, I... I want to keep Sawamura-kun on the respirator to force enough air into his lungs until the pneumonia is sufficiently cleared up and he can breathe enough air in to survive. I have called in my fellow doctor to follow Sawamura-kun's pulmonary condition." the doctor added.

Rei was ashen and sits in a nearby chair, imagining the look of Sawamura's family if they heard this news. She's more scared that she has ever been in her life since she's responsible for recruiting Sawamura to play baseball at Tokyo for Seidou High School.

"Is Sawamura going to be all right, doctor?" Kataoka asked.

The doctor adjusted his glasses and stared at Kataoka, "Sawamura-kun is young and otherwise healthy. He is strong willed. His chances are good but it will be touch and go for a day or two. You can stay here in the waiting room through the night if you wish but you would do well to go home and rest."

"Rei-san, you should go home now. I will stay until Sawamura's parenst get here. I'm not leaving him." Kataoka said.

"No, it's okay, coach. I will wait too." Rei smiled, then Kataoka nodded.

At around 11 PM, Sawamura's parents arrive at the hospital. They are very concerned and asked how is he feeling. After Kataoka and Rei left, Sawamura's parents called in by the nurse and went in the small room. The nurse said Sawamura's doctor will be in in a few minutes. Then, the doctor arrive and introduced himself and explained everything about Sawamura's condition.

"Can wee see him?" Sawamura's mom said.

"Okay. I will allow you to go in for ten minutes then you must leave him bedside so the nurses can do their job." the doctor said.

Sawamura's family led to a room filled with monitors and beeping machines and saw him looking pale with a nasty looking tube in his throat and IV solutions running into each arm. Sawamura's mom gasps and swoons. Sawamura's dad and grandfather catches her and carries her to the nurse's station where and she is sent to the emergency room to make sure she is fine. When she has sufficiently recovered, Sawamura's dad takes her to a small hotel nearby while Sawamura's grandpa will stay with him tonight in the hospital.

At 7 AM, Kataoka called Sawamura's parents to check on his condition and was told that Sawamura is stable and improving slightly. With a sigh of relief, Kataoka decided to tell the boys about the current situation of Sawamura in the middle of their breakfast.

"Sawamura is a little better this morning. He seems to have turned the corner and is beginning to improve slowly, but he's still very seriously ill." Kataoka said to them.

The boys look relieved and encouraged but still very worried. They had been worried that they hadn't eat properly their breakfast like they had no appetite. But they need to eat to keep their strength up and to stay strong for their ace. Furuya nibbles at his food as Haruichi encourages him to eat something.

"I hope he's all right." Furuya said.

"Me too." Haruichi said.

"If Sawamura couldn't play, there were a lot of other pitchers right here to take his place, right?" Asou said.

"Like Kawakami?"

"or Toujou..."

"It should be the former ace-sama."

Furuya heard murmuring voices behind him but ignored them and continued to eat.

Slowly Kuramochi turned to Asou and said, "Please quiet guys. He almost died!"

Asou paused and stared at Kuramochi too, "I know I've never talked to you before Youichi, but don't blame yourself although you teased him and made fun of him all the time."

Turning back to his table, Kuramochi smirked, "Hehe! Last night I dreamed of Sawamura."

Everyone looked in his direction.

"I quietly entered our dorm room, I found Sawamura asleep in the bunk bed. I walked closer to see his face. He's sick and pale. Then, he opened his eyes. He looked at me and say 'Hi, Kuramochi-senpai!'" Kuramochi laughed.

Everyone started laughing while eating their breakfast, and Kuramochi continued, "I asked, what's the matter? Then I saw his eyes filled with tears. He said, he's afraid. Then, I asked, afraid of what? I saw his tears began to trickled down his cheeks and said he don't want to go to heaven and leave us. I started to laugh and said, baka! how come you're worried about going to heaven! Nobody is sick or idiot in heaven and nothing dies neither! Everything is pretty up there!"

"Then, what happened next?" Maezono asked, curious.

"Someone broke into our room. He shot me and took Sawamura away and it seemed so real." Kuramochi said.

No one said a word. Kuramochi knew what he said must have sounded insane.

"Like Sawamura-senpai's dream?" Asada said and Kuramochi nodded.

Asada remember he saw Kuramochi already up when he woke at exactly six. He thought maybe Kuramochi hadn't slept at all. Maybe Sawamura's condition bothered him more.

"Dreams can't be real according to the laws of physics." Toujou said.

"But most of them are real." Shirasu said.

"Hey are you okay?" Miyuki suddenly asked, worried.

Kuramochi looked up at him and nodded and replied, "Perfectly fine."

Before the class began, most students asked every baseball players and managers a lot of questions about Sawamura. They mainly wanted to know when Sawamura would be coming back to school. They still remember the sound of a siren echo through the entire campus and saw an ambulance arrived and parked in the front of the building, putting Sawamura Eijun inside and take him to the hospital.

"He's got pneumonia. He's in the hospital." Kuramochi answered his classmates.

"Oh no. I'm sorry. What do the doctors say? He's going to be okay, right?" someone asked.

"Don't worry. He's going to be fine and he's a very strong idiot basically! Kyahaha!" Kuramochi laughed.

"I suppose Sawamura knew about the things Kuramochi was saying about him before he went into hospital." someone whispered to Miyuki.

"Hehe, you're right." Miyuki grinned.

That day, the news spread around Seidou High School very fast about Sawamura's health. Many students visited Sawamura's classroom just to put some flowers, or get well soon card or either put Natto to his table, and during breaktime, the school offer a prayer for Sawamura's recovery.

"So that's why I didn't see him around." the man murmured, watching outside the school.

* * *

**NOTE:  
** I thought I'm gonna miss updating this fanfic today. Phew~! I want to continue writing as long as I'm motivated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**THE MAN VISITED SAWAMURA**

When Sawamura's condition stabilized, his family just saw him for a small amounts of time. Every time they went to see him, it took them breath away. There were so many tubes and machines everywhere and Sawamura was disoriented. He said it was scary. He did not even remember where he was or why he was there, and his family had to tell him over and over again. Later that night, Kataoka and Rei arrived and found out that Sawamura's condition had become worse again. They visited for a while before Sawamura's family had to leave and back to a small hotel. They hated to leave because they just knew that something bad would happen to him and they wouldn't be there.

Kataoka slept very poorly that night, got up early and called Sawamura's parents. They said all was well. There had been no change during the night. He proceeded to get ready and go back to the hospital to check the young pitcher and Rei came to the hospital later that morning. They had moved Sawamura out of ICU to a regular bed on the floor and nurses took him off the ventilator and Sawamura could talk again.

"It seemed that you was improving, Sawamura." Rei smiled.

"I'm scared... that I don't want to die yet. I wanted this torture to end." Sawamura said, trying to smile.

Sawamura kept improving throughout the day and they all felt better leaving him that night except his father who decided to stay in the hospital. Sawamura got up and said he's going to the bathroom. He got back in bed and about five minutes later, he turned to look at his father.

"What's the matter?" his dad asked.

"I... I can't breath.." Sawamura gasped.

His father told him to push call button for the nurse but Sawamura just kept staring at him with his blank look, so his father went to the nurses' station and told the nurse that Sawamura couldn't breath. She rushed into the room and then called the doctor. Soon, they told his father that they were going to put Sawamura back in ICU. He called his wife to let her know that their son was going back to ICU. Sawamura's father received a call from Kataoka and asked how things were going. He told him they were putting Sawamura back in ICU. After a couple more hours, Kataoka called again.

"They said, he's oxygenating better now and his pulse rate is coming back to normal." Sawamura's father said.

"He'll be okay?" Kataoka asked.

"It looks like we're on the road back, coach." Sawamura's father smiled.

His father find Sawamura having on a ventilator again and looking very pale while the machines keep beeping. He took Sawamura's hand and talks to him knowing an unconscious person can often hear words of encouragement, then he reached up and touched Sawamura's face. His son almost died again. He'd been scared to death just hours ago. Witnessing Sawamura's small improvement now his fear had been vanquished. He spent the entire night awake with him in the hospital.

The next two days, it was 7:00 am morning and the man finally found Sawamura's whereabouts and he went to visit the hospital where Sawamura was staying at.

He went to the nurse's station and asked, "Excuse me, could you possibly tell me where's Sawamura Eijun's room?"

The nurse pushed her glasses back onto her nose and then glanced at the computer screen in front of her.

"Sawamura Eijun..." She said, "He was brought to a private room last night but you won't be able to stay long since he's not feeling well today, unless you're his family." the nurse added.

The man felt devastated and the nurse asked him again, "What business do you have with Sawamura-kun?"

"I'm Kataoka Tesshin's assistant coach from Seidou High School, Ochiai Hiromitsu. I came to see him, see how our pitcher's doing." The man lied, wanted desperately to see the boy.

Then, the nurse rise and escorted the man into the hospital room, the man started to ask the nurse.

"How is he doing?" He asked.

"He woke with a terrible fever today, he's so bad, he can't even get out of the bed." The nurse replied.

"Have his parents been in to see him?" The man asked again.

"They come every night to see him, sir. Sometimes during afternoon." The nurse replied again.

Later, Sawamura had just woken up from a sleep just to hear the noises of the birds outside the hospital window. He looked out the window and saw the flowers nearby. He realized that this day would be the same day that he had experience. He was in a different room now and he was in a room by himself, but he was still in a hospital bed. He soon realized that this was not the ICU room. He had been moved to another room, again. As he lay there in the bed wondering where his parents and what's going on now, a man came into the room. He addressed Sawamura using his first name with 'kun' in the end, which gave Sawamura reason to be alarmed, for all his close friends only or his family called him by his first name, Eijun.

Sawamura asked the man who he was, though it was difficult for Sawamura because he was slurring every word. The man said he was Sawamura's number one fan. As he lay there, the man he had never met before came in and started talking that he's lucky to see his favorite pitcher on this place and asking for Sawamura's autograph. At that time, Sawamura still did not know what exactly happening because he's getting dizzy. The man reached into his bag and pulled out a ball and a marker pen, he noticed Sawamura's color was off and he knew the boy was running a fever but Sawamura took it and sign the ball immediately. Because of the high fever, Sawamura suddenly felt so tired and thought he could fall asleep right away.

"You're sweating, Eijun-kun. I've got the sheets and a dry gown." the man smirked.

The man bent down and looked at Sawamura's now sleeping face. He worked quickly to strip the wet sheets off the bed. He had to turn Sawamura over and over until he managed to get the dry linens on. Then, he removed Sawamura's soaked gown and put a clean one on him. He immediately placed the cloth into the warm water and squeezed the excess from it. He started with Sawamura's face and began to wash his whole body rubbing firmly while watching the figure of the young pitcher and couldn't help but remember the day he met him during Spring Koshien. As he finished, the man smirked and squeezed Sawamura's hand. He watched the young boy sleep, watched Sawamura's stomach rise and fall. The man got up and soaked a cloth in the cold water and then put it against Sawamura's forehead, hopefully, this will get the fever down.

He sat on the bed next to Sawamura and watched him sleeping again. He didn't know if he's really worried about the boy but deep inside, he wanted to kidnap him right away.

"How long has he had a fever?" the man thought, studied Sawamura's sleeping face.

He removed the cloth and touched Sawamura's forehead, "Good, the fever seems to be down."

Then, suddenly someone flung open the door. The man didn't expected to see Sawamura's family, but when he looked around, he discovered two nurses walking in, instead.

The female nurse stared at the man, "Excuse me? Who are you?"

The man refused to say his name and the nurse told him that only close family members were allowed to visit the patient.

"I'm sorry! I'm just passing by." The man said as he walked out the door while the two nurses watched him leave.

"I've never seen him before." The male nurse said.

"Neither have I. I have a feelings he's not from around here."The female nurse said.

"Maybe, he's a friend?" The male nurse wondered.

"Uhmm, maybe?" The female nurse shrugged.

The next day, when Sawamura woke, he was informed by his nurse that a meeting was being set up for him today about the decisions of the two doctors that he would either be released from the hospital to go home for full recovery, or he would stay at the spirit dorm since there's a clinic and hospital nearby just in case he don't feel well and he would also see his doctor each week.

Heading into the meeting, Sawamura was very confident that he was going back to Seidou, and everything was going to be all right. He was taken to the meeting in a wheelchair. Everybody was there in the huge room when he arrived. The meeting included Sawamura's family, coach Kataoka, Rei and his two doctors but in the end, Sawamura had to make all the decisions. He was very exhausted and he just wanted to go back at spirit dorm now. During conversation, Sawamura's mother and father told Kataoka what they wanted for Eijun. But after all, Sawamura was their son, and they're going to do exactly what Sawamura said. He wanted to be released as soon as possible and then he would be out of the hospital, at spirit dorm, and he would heal up and play baseball again. Sawamura felt he had been at the hospital too long already. He didn't even remember the man who visited him.

During Sawamura's absence, the Seidou baseball club routine continued. Players are on the field, in uniform, stretching together and preparing for the practice or game. Then, they watched and analyzed the video of the opposing team's starting pitcher with the help of Nabe. Mogami will spending his time on the phone. Furuya take a nap somewhere. Masashi and Miyuki will play shogi. Kuramochi play video games with the other gamer. Some take batting and fielding practice. Some like to sit and wait. Others like to jog and stretch and some boys simply do nothing.

Coach Ochiai had been running practices for the players in preparation for the upcoming match. He pushed the team hard and attempted to get them to believed they would dominate the tournament. He had not only been exclaiming that they would win the tournament but also reaching Koshien. Of course, the team thought coach Ochiai was nuts and very strict to those freshmen but they practiced very hard for the team. The team also practiced five hours a day by coach Kataoka after visiting Sawamura in the hospital. They practiced batting, fielding, sliding and team plays and endurance was stressed. After practice finished, Haruno and the rest of managers came to the baseball field.

"We've got snacks cart here. Please enjoy the food." Haruno smiled.

The boys grabbed water, onigiri and natto from the tray, then started talking while eating to make the conversation that somehow led to them talking about how well studying in school. The first years told their senpais about how they were struggling a little in their classes and ended up falling asleep every subjects because of the hard training. Haruichi told them that if they didn't study enough, they would end up struggling like Sawamura and Furuya during their first year life. Another topic they talked about was about future career. Upperclassmen asked the first years what they wanted to be after high school then, the conversation topic changed about Sawamura.

"Sawamura's rush to ICU again."

"Really? Is he okay?"

"I heard Pneumonia can be dangerous."

"What if—"

Gradually others joined in the conversation while the rest chose to keep silent but Sawamura's close friend could not take it anymore, so he spoke.

"We don't go to what-ifs, okay? We go to whens. When Eijun-kun turns the corner, we can play together again. When Eijun-kun is better, Kuramochi-senpai will tease and torture him again. When Eijun-kun feels good, we'll give him delicious food except natto. Get it?" Haruichi said.

They nodded and it was the first time they saw Haurichi upset.

"Hey! You looked genuinely concerned to that idiot or maybe you're overreacting a little." Kuramochi chuckled and gave Haruichi an elbow.

"Haruichi is right. How you guys feel when you're spend time talking about negative things to our teammate? Do you feel great?" Miyuki asked the other boys.

"No, captain." the boy replied.

"Good! If someone of you talking about these bad things, each of us here could become affected and feel bad too. So avoid thinking them." Miyuki said.

The boys nodded but overall, it was a very awkward. For 30 minutes of break, no one dared to try to speak for any reason. After what seemed like an eternity, coach Kataoka arrived and they continued practice through the night.

* * *

**Note: **

I'm going to be busy for a while and I'm not sure when will I update.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**ALONE IN THE DORM**

Seven days have passed and there's still no sign of Seidou ace player around. Without Sawamura, the silence seemed strange as some boys wandered around. He is, without question, the most important and annoying loudmouth of all time for them, and even though they didn't appreciate him so much when Sawamura and the other boys lived together at the spirit dorm, since he's still not coming back yet, they feel they had truly come to understand their current ace, and as they attachment for Sawamura had grown. The dorm is too quiet without Sawamura's voice, the field seemed almost eerily quiet without Sawamura running around.

Every day and every night, the boys expected to see Sawamura around, but each day passed as the day before. Sometimes they'd go and stand outside the field during night and imagining the sounds of tires dragging on the ground. They'd go in slowly with their eyes closed, then open them quickly, hoping to catch Sawamura running there, but it didn't.

"Has your ace come home yet?" a man called to Haruichi outside the fence.

Haruichi shook his head. His close friend had not returned yet but with each passing day, their hope didn't faded a little.

"Okay, thank you little boy." the young man said before heading to his home.

Haruichi just watch the man where he went and took a deep breath as he left the field too. Walking slowly up the stairs, he headed towards his dorm. Once inside the room, he found Mogami sleeping peacefully on his bed, now quiet and still, Haruichi pulled out a chair and sat down in front of the study table, flipping through some pages in his notebook. The dorm was strangely quiet that night except for the lonely sound of the wind blowing against the dorm room window. He looked over his left shoulder as he heard the door open. His eyes smiled as they followed Maezono's movements as he came in through the door and then closed it again quietly.

"Hey, Sawamura's health is good now and he will be released from the hospital tomorrow." Maezono smiled.

"R-really?" Haruichi astonished as his eyes turned in a bright.

That night, they all found out later that Sawamura would be released from the hospital tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, Rei left after school class to pick up Sawamura at the hospital. She drove along with the radio playing. Rei of course was concentrating on the road and watching the small traffic as she got closer to town more and more cars were around. She arrived at the hospital and greeted by Sawamura's mother. She found Sawamura sitting on a window seat staring out the window and he looked so much better now.

"Rei-san! I'm glad you have come here to pick my son. Thank you for taking care of him." Sawamura's mother bowed.

Rei smiled and bowed as well, "You're welcome, Mrs. Sawamura. I'm glad that he is getting better. You and your husband are doing a good job of looking after him. He's really brave and strong boy."

"Yeah, he is. Obviously it's you and coach Kataoka who deserves thanks for saving my son's life." Sawamura's mother bowed again.

Rei smiled and say, "Sawamura saved himself. He didn't want to give up."

The two women chatted for a minutes then Sawamura's mother turned to open the closet and get his son things. She picked up Eijun's clothes or what was left of his son's clothes in it and put them inside the hospital bag.

"How are you feeling, Sawamura-kun?" Rei asked.

Sawamura looked up at her, "I'm getting better, but it will be a long time before I am able to do much. I... I will have to do special exercises when I get back so that I can get back on playing baseball." Sawamura said with a timid smile.

"Yeah, you cannot move around like you use to be able to. I'm glad you didn't give up. We're here to help you." Rei smiled.

Sawamura had a half smile on his face and Rei figured she knew what Sawamura was thinking.

"Speaking of team, they're going to be so happy to see you. They're been so worried." Rei smiled.

Rei noticed Sawamura was finally starting to look like himself again. He was gaining color in his face and Rei knows that Kataoka would be relieved to see the difference.

After being released from the hospital, Sawamura, Rei and his mother went to the train station.

Sawamura's mother say goodbye, "Get better soon, Ei-chan. Me and your father will come back to pick you up when you're not feeling well and ready to come home."

"Thanks, okaasan." Sawamura said as he hugged his mother.

She then walked and headed to the train so she could go home now. Sawamura was very uneasy leaving his family again after taking care of him but he felt he had no other choice, he have to finish his studies and also to play his favorite baseball sport.

Rei open the car door and let the young boy in, Sawamura leant back in the cab, inhaling the smell of the black leather seats with a sigh. He also caught his reflection in the cab's window. Sawamura starts thinking like he had been in the hospital for years when it didn't because for him, he looked kinda different, like kinda pale. He noticed for the first time how his lips were dry and those dark circles under his eyes but he stay very still and quiet until Rei starts the engine of the car.

While Rei's busy driving, she glanced at the front mirror and noticed Sawamura who's busy watching the sunset through the window. It's so beautiful, the sky was watery blue, the sun with a rich amber gold melting into the horizon like liquid honey.

"Are you okay, Sawamura-kun?" Rei broke the silence even though she knows that Sawamura doesn't feel okay but the young boy just nodded on her question.

It's already dark when they finally reached the dorm, Rei carefully parked the car by the side of the indoor training center without Sawamura notice because he just suddenly started feeling anxious and nervous about returning to the spirit dorm while glancing through the window.

"What's wrong?" Rei asked.

"I don't know. I just started feeling anxious." Sawamura replied.

"How do you feel now?" Rei asked again.

"It's like I'm calming down some." Sawamura said.

"Are you sure?" Rei frowned.

"Uhmm, Rei-san, is it silly if I'm afraid to go back?" Sawamura asked her in a timid voice.

"No, it's not silly at all, Sawamura." Rei told him.

The next thing Sawamura knew that the car was parked already. How idiot he is.

"Oh..." Sawamura said.

"Well, try to relax. I know you're excited to see them." Rei smiled.

"Yeah." Sawamura smiled.

"Come on, let's go." Rei smiled as she opened her door.

When Sawamura got up and went outside the car, he starts feeling dizzy. He didn't get enough sleep in the hospital before Rei pick him up.

Rei looked at Sawamura, "Are you really alright?" she asked.

"I-I'm just tired after the drive." Sawamura hold his head.

"You look like you didn't get much sleep." Rei said, worriedly.

Sawamura remember last night that he woke up with a cold sweat because of the nightmare.

"Yeah, I am going to my room now and sit down for a little while. I'll get myself something a little later on." Sawamura murmured.

"Alright, Sawamura. I'll try to have some rest too. I'm not sure when the others will be back. It could still be a couple of hours or so since they're still practicing with the head coach." Rei said and Sawamura nodded.

While heading to the dorm, alone, the moon was not quite full. It was bright enough that Sawamura could see the path but suddenly, he starts getting goose bumps

that someone was following him. He kept looking over his shoulder but nothing was there. Sawamura was sure that someone's walking when he walked and stopping when he stopped. He tried taking a few fast steps despite of his current condition, then stopping suddenly.

As he stopped in the front of the dinning hall, he heard a familiar voice. It was kind of murmuring, like something he'd heard in his dream, coming from his back. Sawamura realized he should have keep walking but curiosity was drawing him closer like a magnet. As he continued forward, he felt coldness coming on and he smelled something that made him gag, the smell of beer and cigarette.

Sawamura just sighed and tried to remind himself that he liked walking alone. By the time he'd reached his dorm room, he's out of breath. He was about to close the door when he got an eerie feeling that someone was still watching him but he knows he could handle anything.

"You're just imagining things..." Sawamura said to himself.

He scanned outside the door and carefully closed the door. He then went to the window, peering a slit in the curtain, waiting to see if someone was lurking outside. When he'd seen nothing suspicious, he made his way to his bed.

He lies on his back on his bed and watches the white ceiling. He holds his hand then his fingers splayed above his eyes and moves it back and forth. The pattern of light and shadow makes him calm because when Sawamura is looking at the pattern, nothing else can get in and he is alone, even when there are boys around, busy practicing outside.

He was about to sleep when the eerie feeling returned but he just slapped his face and talking to himself that he's overreacting. He begin to hum so that he can't hear anything outside, hoping it would calm his nerves. Suddenly, Sawamura felt his phone vibrate and pulled out of his pocket.

"Hello?" Sawamura said.

"Hello, I'm looking for Sawamura Eijun." a man said loudly.

"T-this is him." Sawamura frowned.

"Oh, finally! Good evening, Sawamura-kun. I am your fan, can I meet you outside, even for just a moment?"

"How did you get my number? Who is this?"

"My name is..."

Sawamura jumped to the loud knocking on the front door.

"Was Kuramochi-senpai and Asada at the door? But it's not locked." Sawamura said to himself.

The time on his phone said it's 6:30 pm and the boys would have left the field by now and start heading back to the dorm but there's no any sign of them until now.

"I'll get it!" Sawamura cried.

Sawamura was afraid when he stumbled into the the door and through the curtain, he saw a tall and thin figure wearing a baseball cap. He was a total stranger he had never seen before.

"Yes? Can I help you, sir?" Sawamura asked politely.

"I'm your fan, Sawamura Eijun. I'm fan of Seidou!" the man shouted back.

"What do you want, sir?" Sawamura frowned.

"I'm here to see you." the man smiled evilly.

Sawamura suddenly remember when he was 7 years old, his grandfather had told him at least a dozen times not to open the door to strangers. When he was about to run, the young man suddenly pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and placed it over Sawamura's mouth causing the young pitcher to be in an unconscious state.

Before Sawamura reaches the floor, the stranger catches the young boy's falling body. His face turned toward Sawamura, and he watched until he saw the slow rise and fall of the young boy's chest. The man smiled and kissed Sawamura's forehead and embraced the small body very tightly. While staring again at Sawamura's sleeping face for so long, he decided it was time to abduct this ace player before he began to wake up.

He duct taped Sawamura's hands and feet, carried him out of the dorm and opened the trunk of the car and pulled the young boy's unconscious body from the trunk, threw Sawamura over the stranger's shoulder and as the young pitcher's body was being placed into the trunk, Sawamura's eyes opened wide from the burning sensation because of the heat of the car. He tried to scream but that only lasted a few seconds as the man hit Sawamura's stomach so hard and slipped into unconsciousness again.

The man just laughed then closed the trunk and got into the car starting it up. He reached the picture of Sawamura on the dashboard and kissed it. Rolling down the window he tossed out the picture.

"I'll leave it! Find me if you can!" the man laughed.

Then, the next morning, the news about the disappearance of Sawamura was broadcasted on every channels and also published in newspapers.

* * *

**NOTE: **Sorry for the long update! I actually had forgotten it! Thank you for giving me a review and I'm so happy to read them! ^w^


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**THE ACE IS MISSING**

(The moments after Sawamura kidnapped)

When Kuramochi and Asada walked inside their room, they smelled something strange like there's a faint chemical odor in the air the smelled like chloroform.

"What's that smell? Chloroform? " Kuramochi asked with a frown.

"Yes, senpai. A chloroform." Asada said, confused.

Kuramochi called Sawamura's name but answered with the silence of an empty room.

"Sawamura-senpai?" Asada called.

He checked the double bunk bed and saw Sawamura's bag there, but the bed is empty and it was crumpled. Their room showed signs that the ace player had gotten back from hospital already. Kuramochi picked up his phone and dialed Miyuki's number even though they're both living in the same dorm, he just too tired to find their captain, but he just heard a recorded message saying that phone was turned off, followed by the voicemail message recorded in their captain's own voice.

"Fuck! Where's that Bakamura? Are they practicing the numbers together? " Kuramochi growled.

"I saw Miyuki-senpai headed in the direction of the comfort room, Kuramochi-senpai." Asada said.

Kuramochi tried to called Sawamura's number but don't get an answer. Maybe he forgot his phone in the hospital or he forgot to set the ring tone and vibration.

As Kuramochi was about to leave, he was startled by a voice behind him asking, "How's Sawamura?"

"Hey, we need help. There's something bad has happened here!" Kuramochi said to Maezono.

"Bad, like what?" Maezono frowned.

"I don't know exactly but our room smell like chloroform and Sawamura isn't here." Kuramochi said to him.

"What? He's supposed to be here now, right?" Haruichi said which startled Asada, Kuramochi and Maezono.

"Okay! Calm down, guys. I'll inform coach Kataoka now!" Maezono ran, not taking the time to talk or ask anything to Kuramochi.

The group began talking and asking to Kuramochi and Asada in front of their room. They would occasionally eating and resting after the practice, but they didn't. The front of the spirit dorm were filled of boys now, gossiping.

Inside the shower room, Miyuki wiped the steam off the mirror and rubbing a towel over his damp hair and walked back into the spirit dorm. He turned the corner and gasped in surprise. He was expecting an emptiness this current time but they are so many people in front of room 05. Miyuki paused as he felt a strange chill run down his spine. For a brief moment, he saw Maezono running towards the office of coach Kataoka. He then turned to the others, unsure of what to tell them.

"W-What's going on?" Miyuki asked.

That's a hard question for Kuramochi to try to explain for the first time in his life. He see the worry and fear in every boys' faces when their captain arrive. He and Asada can't find Sawamura who was just got back from the hospital.

"That idiot... he's not here and there's an odor of chloroform in the our room. This looks like a kidnapping to me." Kuramochi whispered.

"W-what?!" Yui gasped.

"Why would someone kidnap Sawamura? He told me that his family was just ordinary farmer and what is the reason behind it?" Kanemaru asked, as he didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, I can smell chloroform, too. It's like Sawamura has been drugged." Toujo said as he took a peek from the room.

Miyuki walk slowly through the door and was met by the familiar faint smell of chloroform that never left the room.

"Wait? How do we know he did actually get taken somehow?" Shirasu confused.

"I don't really know if Sawamura was kidnapped but something's wrong. If not, why isn't he answering his phone?" Kuramochi looked at them.

"I don't think it's a good idea to say he's been kidnapped when you have no such proof. Let's wait for the police." Asou said.

Kuramochi gave Miyuki a glance, he was probably thinking the same thing.

"Guys, go ahead and search the place for Sawamura. See if he's upstairs, dinning hall or somewhere near the spirit dorm."

Miyuki ordered as the other boys spread out and went through their room.

"Do you have any idea where he may have been heading?" Furuya asked Haruichi.

"No, I have absolutely no idea where Eijun-kun could be going since he's still sick." Harucihi replied.

Some boys checked upstairs, dinning hall, indoor practice area and comfort room. The others starts walking up and down near the field, calling Sawamura's name but no answer.

"He's not here." Seto said.

Okumura caught a glimpse of someone walking towards them, holding a picture.

"Are you looking for him, onii-chan? The old man threw it out of the car window." the little girl said.

She handed Okumura the picture and he took it from her hands and looking it.

"S-Sawamura-senpai? Hey, little girl, where did you find it?" Seto asked.

"I found it near the vending machine, onii-chan. He was the same boy that I saw earlier with the old man." the little girl replied.

Seto looked over at Okumura and asked, "O-Old man?"

"Yeah... I wasn't supposed to be there. I just wanted some fresh air and I heard footsteps coming from your dorm. Old man was carrying a boy's body and he put him in the car trunk." the little girl said.

"Car trunk?!" Seto gasped.

"Yeah, but I'm lucky. He's head was down all the time so he didn't notice me." the little girl added.

Panic begins to creep in now for the two first year. Seto looked over at Okumura again, the wolf boy nodded like that was all Seto needed to hear. They gave thanks for the kindness of the little girl. Okumura and Seto praised how smart the little girl is and then, she starts to walk away, waving her hand.

"D-Do you think Sawamura-senpai could have been kidnapped, Koushuu?" Seto's voice sounded nervous.

"Certainly. I had already heard this missing-baseball boy case before, Taku." Okumura said.

"Yeah, me too. His name is Takashi Hirofumi, right? He's a pitcher and... ace." Seto believed it.

"Sawamura-senpai had already told us that he got an anonymous gift from someone who claimed to be his fan and he felt like someone was watching him. I know that stranger, that man! He's the one who kidnapped our senpai!" Okumura said as he tightened his grip in the picture.

"Hey, calm down. Do you still remember his face, Koushuu?" Seto question as he fix his eyeglasses on his nose.

"I couldn't see his face clearly but I know I will recognize his figure and voice if I ever saw him again. If that man didn't show up tomorrow. He's definitely the one who kidnapped Sawamura-senpai." Okumura whispered.

"That is what makes the whole thing ironic. The smell of chloroform from their room, I think the stranger made sure that it would knock Sawamura-senpai out and put him in the trunk as precaution." Seto said.

"I think that bastard was just only interested in Sawamura-senpai." Okumura said.

"Alright, we should tell 'em now." Seto said with a confident smirk.

* * *

"Where am I?""

Sawamura surprised that it was too dark when he opened his eyes. The smell of gas or oil drifted around him and it's kinda warm. His breath caught in his chest when he found his hands and feet were tied together. He tried to stretch but his feet hit a solid surface and he realized that he was in a car trunk.

He began to remember about the stranger who knocked on the door but when he tried to run away, strong arms wrapped around his body and a smelly rag was pressed against his mouth and nose. He tried to break free, kicking his leg until he couldn't breathe and everything went black.

"Shit!" he gasped.

Sawamura wasn't sure how long they had traveled but he needed to find his phone. He tried to reach for the phone in his pocket but couldn't do it because his hands were tied.

As they drove, Sawamura could hear music from the car through the speakers. He felt around in the dark, hoping to find something that would help him break out. But the combination of heat, fumes and sweat was dizzying to Sawamura and felt as if he were on the inside of a clothes dryer as they bounced along a particularly bumpy road.

"HELP! HELP! LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Sawamura cried out in a long painful howl.

"Shut up!" a muffled voice growled from the other side.

Now, Sawamura's eyes drifted closed no matter how he fought it and unconsciousness claimed him.

When he opened his eyes once again, Sawamura realized that the car had stopped and a minute later, the trunk lid flew open.

"How's your sleep, baseball boy?" the man grinned.

Sawamura drew back, suddenly afraid and the man began to untie the ropes around the young boy's ankles.

"Come on, get up!" the man ordered but Sawamura couldn't move.

The man used both hands and he yanked Sawamura out of the trunk. He ordered him to get in the house immediately or he will kill him. While his hands still tied together by the rope, Sawamura willed his body to stand and with every step, he kept waiting to be bashed in the head but it didn't. He made it to the front of the red door and noticed the small gray house with number 1425 near the door. Sawamura gasped in terror because it was exactly like he had seen in his dream.

He turned around to glance at the face of his abductor before he walk inside. The man appeared to be about 27 years old, with black hair and blue eyes and was dressed in a white polo shirt and gray pants. He looks so ordinary. From the way the man had pulled him out of the trunk, Sawamura knew this man was stronger than he looked. He then started looked around to see if there are any houses nearby but it's like some owners abandoned them years ago and just left everything. It's too quiet, where could he be?

"What's wrong? Go inside! Now!" the man yelled, showing his pocket knife.

Sawamura didn't clearly heard what the man was saying because he felt exhausted, and terrified but he forced himself to take a few steps and walked in. He glanced around the room, it looks normal, like a normal Japanese-style apartment but this place was a little mess. He tilted his head and recognize any details of the room and it's really all the same as his dream, even the pictures of the young boy scattered and broken glass on the floor. He noticed the man had locked the front door of the house and pointed his finger crossly towards the kitchen and frowned at him.

He felt more frightened and alone than he'd ever felt in his life, maybe this man was going to feed him.

"Sit down. I'll make you dinner!" the man ordered.

As he sat down in the chair, Sawamura heard the sound of clattering dishes coming from behind him. The man was probably start making the dinner he had said to the young pitcher. Not that Sawamura felt any kind of appetite but he knew that he needed some nourishment if he were to escape somehow and the man would probably cut the ropes on his wrists so that he could feed himself and perhaps that would be the time. The sound of footsteps on the floor interrupted Sawamura's thoughts and saw the man was holding a tray with what appeared to be a bowl of leftover curry and a glass of water.

"Are you hungry, Eijun? You look so pale!" the man asked with a smile but Sawamura didn't respond.

"Okay. Before you start making any plans to try anything cute with your hands feed, I plan to feed you myself so just stay still and I'll give you your dinner. Understand?" he added.

Sawamura was too sick and weak to protest so he just nodded.

The man sat next to Sawamura and began to spoon-feed the curry to the young boy. Out of the corner of his eye, Sawamura glanced at the man and confidently feeding him as if he were a child. This man had abducted him only tonight but it felt like a lifetime. Sawamura starts thinking if he should talk to this man or he should remain resolute and stoic, causing the man to wonder about what was going through his mind? Still glancing at the man through his peripheral vision, Sawamura would remain silent and mysterious and let this man wonder what he was thinking.

The man noticed there was a tiny rice at the corner of Sawamura's lips so he wiped it away which Sawamura's eyes widened. The man knows it should have been an innocent gesture like a father helping his children but something happened when he touched Sawamura's skin. It's a heat, the kind that he'd tried to imagine the past few months. The kind that led someone to do stupid things and a victim to make unwise choices.

"How's the taste of my curry, Eijun?" the man asked, smiling.

His thumb sliding down the skin of the young boy, first the cheek then Sawamura's neck.

"W-what do you want from me? Please...please...let me go, sir!" Sawamura begged.

A hand went in Sawamura's hair, pulling him to the floor and dragging him along without any grace. Sawamura can't help but screamed in agony before managing to scramble his feet but the man didn't let up speed or brutality. His arms are still both tied together so he almost tumbled when the man forced him down the stairs towards the basement, bent over double so Sawamura's hair wouldn't rip from his scalp. The man stopped only to ram the key into the basement door then shoved the young boy in with one hand. Sawamura's head felt on fire.

"Get out, Takashi!" the man said but there's no one else besides them.

"Let me go!" Sawamura cried.

He pushed Sawamura down the stairs and kicked him for saying unnecessary words. He was locked in the basement enduring the beating the entire night and Sawamura thought for sure he was going to die that time.

* * *

**NOTE: **Please don't hate me xD


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**SAWAMURA'S LINE-buddy AND TAKASHI**

"Any ransom or demand letters?" Rei asked.

"We haven't received any ransom phone calls or letters as yet, Ms. Rei." Sawamura's father said.

He began to wonder who had kidnapped Eijun and why since his family is not rich and they don't have the money to pay any ransom. They work hard just so they can have a normal family life.

Rei and Sawamura family wondered about what had happened to Eijun. They were distressed. Sawamura's father looked at his wife who was busy making the tea. Her hands were quick as she poured the tea from the tea kettle into little cups and started over to the table with her husband, father-in-law and Takashima Rei.

"It's been two days since he went missing. He hasn't shown up yet, something must have happened to him. The weather is good and he has still not come home." Sawamura's father told them.

"Yeah, he should have been home by now. I'm worried about my stupid grandson." Eitoku said, he understand their problem since Eijun was an only child.

Sawamura's grandfather began to feel guilty and thought about Eijun went through a lot of abuse by slapping him most of the time, even though it was just a family tradition. But he shouldn't do that because it can make Eijun feel like he's a bad kid since most of his childhood friends' parents were never hit or slap them in the face. But as time goes by, it doesn't affect Sawamura that much anymore. He just used to it.

"I'm afraid he was really kidnapped or... is in some sort of trouble." Rei gulped, but tried to hide it.

Sawamura's mother couldn't bear to think of her son being out there somewhere in the kidnapper's house, alone and waiting for help. Each tick of the clock was even more frightening for her.

"Ei-chan suffered recently from pneumonia. We've been lucky to find professional doctors in Tokyo to cure him. I hope he takes his meds but he's out there somewhere which can put him in danger." Sawamura's mother said in a soft voice.

"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Sawamura. There are hundreds of people now out there doing everything possible to find your son." Rei said quietly.

"I know, Ms. Rei. This waiting is just... so horrible." Sawamura's mother nodded tightly.

"Do you want something to eat, honey?" her husband asked.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm not hungry right now. I'll have time to eat after Ei-chan is in my arms again." she sighed.

Her husband and father-in-law had no answer to that and could only hope she wouldn't starve to death waiting for Eijun. Sawamura's father wasn't hungry either, but he forced himself to eat the biscuit.

"Don't worry, Sawamura-kun will be home again." Rei said.

"But what happened to Eijun after he was kidnapped?" Eitoku asked.

"The boys went outside to look for him, they searched all night without finding a trace of him and returned to the dorm, weary and dispirited. We have no idea either which direction the kidnapper headed." Rei responded.

Sawamura's mother began to cry because there is nothing more painful for a mother than losing her child. Her husband glanced and met her watery eyes, and suddenly he was fighting back tears. He knew he couldn't cry. Crying would make him look uglier and weak, but still, knowing all of that didn't seem to help. The tears were coming whether he wanted them to or not. Then, a gentle fingers caressed his palm. His wife calmed him that he could hold back his tears.

"The police will find him." she said with a smile.

They remember the time when Sawamura was sleeping peacefully on the wooden veranda of their house. They both watched him for a few a moments, wondering what their son might be dreaming of—if perhaps his dream is about baseball.

He embraced his wife in his arms and allowed her to cry upon his shoulder. Sawamura's father couldn't help feeling remorseful that he hadn't talk to Eijun yet after his recovery from pneumonia and wondered if he'd ever see his son again.

Rei chose to stay quiet, she knew she was the one responsible for Sawamura's disappearance and wanted to remove the guilt from her mind. If only there was a way she could go back in time before the young boy went back to the dorm alone, she will never leave him that time since he was still sick. But for Rei, the more she thought about leaving Sawamura alone by himself, the more the flashbacks haunted her mind.

* * *

Sawamura was slowly regaining his senses, he knew the bruises were still painted on his arms despite of darkness and his head ached like he was hit with a baseball bat. His back hurt from the hard cement floor and his wrists still tightly tied. His stomach growled, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day. Desperately trying to forget about his hunger, he tried thinking about playing baseball and talking with his friends. While he was trying to think them, the basement door suddenly opened with a light coming from above. Sawamura froze and slowly inched back to his original position.

Surprisingly, the man held a glass of water, bread rolls and first aid kit. Sawamura watched him as he sat on the cold cement floor.

"Eijun, drink." the man held the glass to Sawamura's lips and tipped it.

Sawamura greedily swallowed even though the front of his shirt got wet from the dribbling water. The man opened the plastic of bread rolls and held it up to the young boy's mouth. Sawamura leaned forward and took a small bite while the man just stared at him with no expression on his face. Sawamura took another bite and chewed and thought maybe he should try to talk to him.

"Thanks... I... I was really thirsty..." Sawamura said.

The man didn't react, he just took another bread roll and offering Sawamura another bite.

"What's your...name, sir?" Sawamura asked.

"Kimura." the man answered, still no reaction.

He started caressing Sawamura's cheek and his heart filled with an unimaginable passion as he convinced himself that this baseball boy was his idol. He caressed that face and listened to Sawamura's loud heartbeat, even though the young boy was terrified, the man smiled in delight. That soft face of the pitcher against his hand was such amazing medicine to a soul as lonely as his. Then, he stared into Sawamura's brilliant brown eyes, he remembered the first time he had seen those beautiful eyes and adorable face.

"How do you feel, Eijun?" he asked.

"K-Kimura-san, p-please, let me go. They will be looking for me now.." Sawamura begged.

The man's eyes narrowed and put down the plastic of bread rolls beside Sawamura.

"Eat and clean your bruises. Put a bandage on it." Kimura said as he stood up and walked away.

When the basement door closed, Sawamura could hear the man's footsteps above. After a few minutes, all was quiet again. The man must have gone to bed to take a nap or something.

"Damn! How can I treat my bruises if my wrists were still tied together?" Sawamura murmured.

He couldn't see clearly because of darkness but he could listen, sadly, there's no sound of car outside or even a voice of people passing by. Sawamara thought if he's going to get out of there alive, he had better do something while his body can. He didn't feel afraid, just mad and now he used that anger for strength. He took a deep breath and waited for his eyes to get used to the dark but they never, it was pitch black with not a crack of light getting in.

He walked slowly and found a small table, groped around on it hoping to find something to cut the rope about his wrists but nothing. He continued feeling his way around the wall and the basement seemed empty. It's funny how his mind imagines things when it's not sent any visual messages to translate. At every step, Sawamura thought he would fall into a deep chasm.

"Ugh!" Sawamura stopped as his body hit something cozy, he's not alone.

"Uhmm, who's there?" he asked in a slow voice.

There was no reply but Sawamura was certain there was somebody else here. He could just feel it.

"Hey, I know you're there..." he said.

Suddenly, someone cut the ropes off and they fell to the ground by Sawamura's feet. But there's a loud thud echoed above and he paused, listening for any other sounds. Maybe it came from outside the house. Afraid to move, Sawamura waited silently in the dark. Then, he heard someone speaking in whispered tones, and he had a feeling that there's someone was in front of him. He felt a cold sweat break out over his body and thought he would never escape the man who kidnapped him. It's dark, but Sawamura sees silhouette walking towards him. He thinks that this person is going to attack but he's wrong.

"You don't need to be afraid of me, Sawamura." Takashi softly said.

While Sawamura was still standing in the darkness, he reflected on the voice from earlier. It had been familiar to him and now he remembered where from. But he suddenly felt his phone vibrate against his leg and he scooped it out of his pocket immediately while his hands trembling and glanced and saw that it was Amahisa from Ichidaisan.

He stared at the name while the phone continued to vibrate. Wondering what it was Amahisa could want again from him, but he suddenly snapped back into reality and answer the phone right away to call for a help. His hand trembled as he brought the phone up to his ear.

"Hello? Hello?" Amahisa said.

"Thanks God, Amahisa! It's me Sawamura! Help me!" he said in a breathless rush.

"Sawamura? It's really you?! I can't hear you clearly." Amahisa said on the other line.

"Yeah, it's me! I have to keep my voice low so he wouldn't hear me! I've been kidnapped and I've been in this house a long time and I want to leave right now! Help me, Amahisa!" Sawamura said.

"Please stay calm, don't panic. I saw the news about you. We tried calling you, but you didn't answer the phone. I tried to call again and I'm glad I finally caught you...!" Amahisa sob.

"R-really?" Sawamura smiled.

"Yeah, I tried calling you since you went missing. I tried this morning a couple of times but I think your phone signal was weak but where are you now?" Amahisa asked.

"I-I don't know where... but the man named Kimura locked me down in the basement of his house. It's a small gray house with the number 1425 near the front red door." Sawamura said as he attempted to turn his head to inspect his surroundings, looking for anything he might use to locate him but it's too dark.

Amahisa quickly grabbed a sheet of paper and started writing down all the information to find his LINE-buddy, "Please tell me more Sawamura so I can write—"

Sawamura was about to say more when the phone suddenly cut for no reason. He checked the display and saw there were no signal bars.

"What happened?" Takashi puzzled.

"I'm not getting a signal." Sawamura replied, busy checking his phone.

"Do you think cell service has been interrupted?" Takashi asked.

"Could be." Sawamura replied.

"Could be we are in a dead spot?" Takashi asked again.

"I... I don't know—" Sawamura suddenly stopped.

He thought for a moment and remembered that there's someone in the basement too, but who's talking? He slowly lifting up the phone and used its small light to help him see. He scanned the basement and then felt as if someone was behind him. Sawamura turned around to see whom it was only to find a glowing orb, transparent and floating in the air in front of him.

"W-what is it?" Sawamura said, he's not afraid but just curious.

When Sawamura touch the orb, it was transformed into a figure. He realized it was a spirit of the young boy but the face was too blurry to be seen.

"It's like from a horror movie..." Sawamura gasped.

Once the figure looked human, the young boy was less transparent and almost real. In front of Sawamura, he saw Takashi, a young boy with blond hair and blue eyes wearing a baseball uniform, but he's pale as a ghost.

"I... I saw you in my dream! You look like Yuki-senpai!" Sawamura surprised.

"Yeah, Sawamura Eijun. My name is Takashi Hirofumi. I have warned you in your dream, but...but I'm here to help you."

"What—"

Sawamura felt lightheaded and darkness appeared at the edges of his vision. He hovered a moment like a drunk but began to sway and finally collapsed. Takashi ran in to catch him before Sawamura hit the ground. His phone dropped like a rock and hit the floor but there's no damage.

Takashi took a deep breath and sighed a sigh of relief that Sawamura's phone was still fine. He needed to hide it somewhere before that bastard guy saw it. He want to wake Sawamura to help him escape now but decided to let him sleep because he is exhausted. He had no expression when he saw Sawamura's bruises on his face, they're still painful by this time and no wonder why he collapsed. He raised Sawamura from the ground, half carried him to the floor with a blanket. He slowly brushed Sawamura's bangs off his forehead.

He remember when he saw Sawamura suffered from the man. He felt every blow as if he was the one receiving them. He knows he needed to do something that he couldn't stand by and watch the horror again. He was sent back to the earth to save and protect that boy. The man could beat Sawamura again, torture or kill him. He couldn't let that happen again, not when he promised he would protect him at all costs.

* * *

**NOTE: **Sorry, this chapter is boring but thank you for reading it x3


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